The US judiciary accuses former President Donald Trump of stealing secret government documents.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington The US judiciary accuses former President Donald Trump of conspiracy to obstruct investigations in the affair of secret government documents. That emerges from the indictment against the Republican, which was published on Friday.
A total of seven categories of offenses are listed, and he is charged with more than 35 criminal offenses. Among other things, Trump is accused of intentionally storing national defense information. This point falls under the US espionage law and can be punished with up to ten years imprisonment.
The background is the affair surrounding Trump’s handling of secret government documents after he left the White House. The indictment states that some of the boxes of intelligence documents were temporarily stored in a room at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate where public events were held. A June 2020 document seized from Trump contained information on another country’s nuclear capabilities.
The federal police FBI had examined Trump’s private property Mar-a-Lago in Florida in August and confiscated numerous classified documents there, some with the highest classification level. Because the Republican kept the documents in his private home long after he left the presidency, he could have committed a criminal offense.
Special Counsel Jack Smith spoke on Friday of the “great scope and seriousness of the alleged crimes”. Government officials, soldiers, intelligence officials and security personnel “across our nation are dedicating their lives to protecting our people. And anyone who compromises our laws protecting sensitive information is endangering our country. We have a national right and that applies to everyone”.
However, Smith called for Trump not to be prejudiced. “It is very important for me to point out that the accused is presumed innocent until proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court. For this reason, my office will seek an expedited process in this matter that is in the public interest and the rights of the accused.”
Historic indictment against Trump
After Trump officially announced in November that he would run again in the 2024 election, the Justice Department appointed the independent special counsel Smith to outsource the politically sensitive investigation into Trump.
Document affair: Federal jury apparently charges Donald Trump
Now came the historical indictment. It is the first time a federal indictment has been filed against a former US President. Trump had already been charged at the state level in New York in April in connection with hush money payments to a porn star.
>> Read here: Document affair: all the facts about the new charges against Donald Trump
In a civil proceeding a few weeks ago, he was held responsible for a sexual assault in court. So far, the allegations in connection with the documents have weighed the most heavily from a legal point of view.
However, other cases are being investigated against Trump in connection with his attempts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. So further charges could possibly follow – and they could also be dangerous for him.
The United States is in the middle of the presidential election campaign, and in February next year the first primary states will vote on who should be the Republican presidential candidate. So far, Trump has led all polls by a comfortable margin.
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